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Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber clear air

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Vettel resolved differences with Webber

Newly crowned Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has cleared the air with Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber.

The pair have engaged in an intense rivalry this season and Vettel's race win at Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended Webber's own title challenge.

Vettel said: "He came to congratulate me [after the race] and showed me a lot of respect which was one of the most important things that happened.

"We talked about some things that got in our way a little bit this year."

Webber held a seven-point lead over Vettel going into the final race of the season, but Vettel triumphed to overhaul both Webber and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, and clinch his first world title.

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Following the initial euphoria of his victory, Vettel revealed how they spent time together in Red Bull's drivers' room, explaining: "When everything cooled down a bit we had the chance to talk to each other."

The pair's relationship this season had threatened at times to derail the team's championship push.

Tensions spilt over when Vettel took Webber out when trying to pass him for the lead at the Turkish Grand Prix.

At Silverstone, accusations of favouritism towards Vettel blew up after a new version of the front wing was taken off Webber's car and bolted on to Vettel's.

In Brazil, where Red Bull made sure of the constructors' title, Webber publicly claimed the team were not supporting him emotionally.

Vettel, Webber and team principal Christian Horner put those troubles to rest on Tuesday when they celebrated their achievements near Red Bull headquarters in Salzburg, before flying on for more celebrations at the factory in Milton Keynes.

But Webber, who led the championship between the Hungarian Grand Prix on 1 August and the South Korea race on 24 October, said: "I'm still pretty raw at the moment.

Webber pledges immediate future to Red Bull

"I'm feeling a bit low but that's inevitable with sport, you put a lot into it and you don't quite get the absolute fairytale result.

"It is very, very good what he [Vettel] has done and in the age that he's done it, it's impressive.

"He fully deserves the championship this year, there's no question about that.

"He's a talent in Formula 1 for a long time to come, so long as he keeps his feet on the deck which I'm sure he will do. It should be a great career for him.

"In the end there's parts of the season that I'm still incredibly proud of and I'm looking forward to it again next year.

"I'll be getting away from photographers and press and even personnel here for a while.

"You have to go away and recharge and that's when the normal desire starts to fire up again. When you get the desire and motivation to come back and compete that's the most important thing."



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see also
Vettel win seals maiden F1 title
14 Nov 10 |  Formula 1
Vettel 'kept believing' in title
14 Nov 10 |  Formula 1
Webber downbeat as title bid ends
14 Nov 10 |  Formula 1


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